Folding Cameras: Delicate?

[steveo_mcg]

Folks, how delicate are folding cameras? I wonder if it would come to harm stuffed in my Carradice on the bike. I wouldn't put an SLR in there I suspect the vibrations would do the mirror and other little parts no favours.

Also I dropped it this afternoon everything seemed to work afterwords though. In fact it worked better as it unstuck the double exposure prevention thingy, unfortunately it did it after I advanced the film on so I lost a frame...

 

[RaglanSurf]

It depends really, is your bag handlebar mounted, saddle mounted? What sort of riding do you do, road, off-road, tow path?

I tend to keep my cameras, digital, film, folders etc in a rucksack, I always feel they are a little more secure there, usually wrapped in a fleece or surrounded by slabs of fruitcake to absorb any bumps or knocks.

 

[steveo_mcg]

Saddle mounted, it's suspended on leather straps which should absorb a lot of the bumps. Off road I've got a camera bag which straps to my camelback so that's fine. On road I use a shoulder bag, a small satchel but tbh it gets on my nerves over anything over a few miles and I had thought a folder might be ok with a little padding.

On the plus side the double exposure thingy is working properly now.

 

[RaglanSurf]

I would have thought it would be fine if wrapped in enough padding. Could you make some sort of padded section out of pluck-able foam and then leave some space for your sarnies in the saddle bag?

 

[Asha]

When open with bellows extended then yes folding cameras can be "delicate" particularly if like me you have 2 cats that think nothing of pouncing on them if left lying around unnattended!!

However as for carrying them around when folded, i have found them to be very robust.......regularly bouncing around in a standard rucksack or even a shopping bag ....similar on a pushbike, in panniers or more usually on my back in a rucksack.

I've been known to drop a folder before now and cringe at the thought of picking it up in pieces only to find it's survived it's impact and indeed left a dint in the parquet floor....I doubt my D80 would hold up to the same!!!

Let's not forget that although these cameras are often very old, they are from an era when things were built to last and they have indeed done just that.....lasted many decades!!!

 

[steveo_mcg]

I'll look into the foam idea if only to stop it rolling around in the bag too much. But I think that should do it

Asha, yeah I was shocked when I picked it up after dropping it on the pavement to find it worked better than before.

I suspect the sturdy leather case and metal construction vs uncased light weight plastic go some way to promoting a good life expectancy.